Gold mining expands fastest on Indigenous lands in Brazil’s Amazon, new analysis finds

SAO PAULO (AP) — Indigenous lands face the greatest threat from the expansion of gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the nonprofit Amazon Environmental Research Institute, known as IPAM.

The area affected by gold mining across the Amazon was 20 times larger in 2024 than in 1985. The growth was even more dramatic on Indigenous lands, where mining covered 24 times as much land — and expanded nearly sevenfold between 2016 and 2024 alone.

Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have driven a renewed mining rush in the Amazon, spiking deforestation and mercury contamination of riverine and Indigenous communities.

IPAM said the mining is aggravating the climate risks facing Indigenous communities. Climate change, driven primarily by human activities that increase greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, has intensified droughts and heat in the Amazon.

“Extreme weather events threaten access to water, food, transportation and healthcare,” the nonprofit said. “At the same time, expanding illegal mining contaminates rivers, accelerates environmental degradation and fuels health problems and violence, further weakening Indigenous communities’ ability to adapt.”

Almost 90% of the affected area is concentrated in three territories. One of them is the Munduruku Indigenous Territory, located in the northern state of Para.

Earlier this month, representatives of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights traveled to Para for a series of hearings with the Munduruku people, including sessions in their territory. The visit sought to assess Brazil’s compliance with provisional measures recommended by the court in 2022 to protect Indigenous communities’ rights.

Munduruku leaders presented evidence — including satellite imagery and field-monitoring reports — showing that illegal gold miners had returned to the territory, after federal operations in 2024 and 2025 expelled them. They also reported that health impacts include a surge in malaria cases, higher infant mortality rates and mercury contamination linked to delays in children’s language and motor development.

Under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazilian authorities have stepped up efforts to combat illegal mining. Police and environmental agencies have carried out major operations targeting criminal networks, while investigators have increasingly used forensic science to trace gold and identify illegally mined metal.

Still, enforcement has not eliminated illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy mining equipment in one area, miners often move elsewhere or resume operations after officials leave. In the Munduruku territory, Indigenous watchdogs had identified 10 new illegal mining sites as of August.

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In a Sept. 10 statement, Brazil’s Ministry of Human Rights said that government officials attended the hearings and discussed continued territorial enforcement, along with improvements to the water supply and food safety. The ministry also acknowledged the need for a “more detailed technical response” to mercury contamination.

Under Brazilian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. On Monday, the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, known by the Portuguese acronym Apib, said in a statement that protecting the Munduruku territory requires more than removing those who invade it.

“The activity is part of a transnational criminal economy in which armed groups control extraction, gold and drugs move along the same river routes, and mining permits are used to give a veneer of legality to illegally extracted gold,” Apib said.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.